A landing craft may need to land at a site for a pick up or drop off operation. The site can be on ground or on water, and is henceforth referred to as a landing zone. The landing craft, or aircraft, is generally above the landing zone in need of identifying a proper site for landing during pick up or drop off.
The aircraft includes personnel or guidance equipment used to detect and land at or near the landing zone. The aircraft includes either a fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft. If the landing zone is visually degraded, possibly due to cloud cover, fog, or dust and sediment stirred by the aircraft, it may be difficult for the equipment or personnel within the overhead aircraft to visually detect the landing zone. The landing zone may therefore include one or more beacons, or strobes, placed at or near the landing zone. The landing strobe or strobes can be configured to emit visible or invisible light that is detectable by the overhead aircraft, henceforth referred to as an aircraft albeit understood to encompass a watercraft provided there is proper landing gear underwater or floatation upon the water. A landing strobe placed at or near the landing zone can therefore help guide the aircraft toward, for example, a friendly landing zone.